degrading

adjective

de·grad·ing di-ˈgrā-diŋ

dē-

Synonyms of degrading next

: causing or associated with a low, destitute, or demoralized state : causing someone to be or feel degraded

a degrading experience

… a work about a young man full of bottled rage looking for a degrading job …—

Penelope Gilliatt

… any cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment of detainees was absolutely forbidden …—

David Cole

degradingly

di-ˈgrā-diŋ-lē

dē-

adverb

"I hate to be poor, and we are degradingly poor, offensively poor, miserably poor, beastly poor." —

Charles Dickens

When employees are treated degradingly by their manager, they respond with decreased motivation, commitment, loyalty, and productivity. —

Ken Lloyd

Examples of degrading in a Sentence

made degrading comments about his so-called friend behind his back

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The first was in a degrading context: Brown University’s annual Spring Weekend, in 2013. —

Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025 In the case of the white-telephone-cord purse, Curran sniffed out the presence of plasticizers that typically emerge from degrading PVC—a useful alarm bell for staff who may want to store the purse in a sealed container. —

Sarah Everts, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2016 The source added that Trump’s history of attacking the Obama family and making degrading comments about people of color doesn’t sit well with her. —

Vivian Kwarm, New York Daily News, 15 Jan. 2025 Thanks to the internet and smartphones, children today have instant access to vast amounts of online pornography, much of it graphic, violent and degrading, Texas state attorneys told the Supreme Court on Wednesday. —

David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for degrading